


Demons

by ObscureSubmarine



Category: Iron Man - Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Civil War Team Iron Man, Feels, Gen, I'm not good at making tags, Post Captain America Civil War, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-16
Updated: 2017-05-16
Packaged: 2018-11-01 07:38:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10917321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObscureSubmarine/pseuds/ObscureSubmarine
Summary: "I don't think people are born demons. They aren't born savage and cruel. Over time their demons can either take control, or stay bottled up. I like to think that I have control of mine." Tony reflects on his past and the angels and demons that he's encountered over the years.





	Demons

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everybody! At the time this fic is being posted I am brand new to writing fan fiction so constructive criticism is welcomed here! There are so many amazing authors out there and I would love to hear your opinions on my story! Also, if you are wondering, this story is not actually about angels and demons. It's just about dealing with your past and who seemed like an angel and who seemed like a demon. Thanks for reading!

I don't think people are born demons. They aren't born savage and cruel. Over time their demons can either take control, or stay bottled up. I like to think that I have control of mine.  
But I don't. It gets out from time to time and plays with the world while I'm forced to watch through the gaze of my own eyes. But I can't do anything. At least, we like to pretend that the bad things that we do are all because of the demons we keep locked up in the darkest corners of our hearts. No. Our demons don't control our actions. We do. I finally realized that a long time ago. Or, it just seems to be a long time ago.  
I used to be the most arrogant, self-centred person in the entire world. I was sitting at the top for so long that I didn't even see the bottom. But I would reach that soon enough. I hit the bottom in an explosion. Fitting for a guy who's every move was explosive. I didn't even realize what my weapons were doing. I thought I was helping our boys over there, fighting for freedom and fighting for people. I didn't realize that my weapons were being used against our soldiers. I found out that day, the day I hit rock bottom. That's when I met an angel.  
Of course, I had met angels before and I didn't even realize it. Rhodey, for one, is definitely an angel. All those times he brought me back home after a long night of partying or working. It was the work of an angel. But I was too self-centered to realize that I was in the presence of an angel. But when I met Yinsen, I finally recognized an angel. An angel isn't a mythical being that has beautiful feathered wings sprouting from its back and a halo around its head, an angel is just a person who would go the extra mile for another, even if they get nothing in return. Yinsen was definitely an angel. He made me realize that I could do great things for the world. He showed me the light when I thought that there was only darkness. I am eternally grateful for what he did for me.  
He made my demon, my arrogant, playboy, egotistical demon shrink back into the black corner that rests in my heart, or what was left of my heart, and showed me that I could be an angel to others. When I got out of that godforsaken cave I made it my mission to be the angel that Yinsen thought I could be. I thought that I was on a pretty good streak. Until I met Rogers.  
Here was the man that my father had praised nonstop, the angel that protected the weak and innocent, the perfect man, a true angel. I couldn't compete with that. It was like comparing a Prius to a Ferrari. There's no competition. No matter how hard I tried Rogers would always be better. The people of the world would always follow the Star-Spangled Man with the Plan. No one would follow the Merchant of Death. How silly I was to actually think that the Avengers would listen to me. Well, Bruce did, but that's only because I was the only one who really accepted the Hulk. Rogers might have appeared to accept the Hulk, but in reality he just denied his existence. Over time, it actually seemed to be getting better. We were all friends, we were all happy, and Rogers actually let me say a piece on leadership. Again, it was just my poor love-starved heart making a fantasy in my head so I could actually have some semblance of a happy and normal life. Then came Ultron.  
Ultron was born from demons. Maybe not entirely my own, but who can be sure. A demon showed me my worst fear, and so my demon took control. It wanted to do good, but as with demons, it could only do bad. Another demon had fueled its fire and so it set out to extinguish the fires of fear that licked at my heart and my brain. It made something that would make sure that my fear was never realized and that the other demon would never win. I suppose the other demon won.  
Ultron was a demon himself. One that had finally taken a physical shape, as it had no good side to keep the evil at bay. He destroyed my hopes of having a trusting, loving family that would stay by my side forever. They thought that it was my demon that had made Ultron. It was not just my own. Bruce's demon had a part in building Ultron, but it really was the other demon that brought it all together. She was the cause of everything, yet they welcomed her with open arms, a girl who was just trying to kill them, and they turned their backs on me, the one who did EVERYTHING for them. It only got worse when HE showed up.  
Rogers became so obsessed with getting his best buddy back that he ignored everything else, all the other people in his life who supported him. I tried, I tried as hard as I could, but he wouldn't listen. I had plans set up for Barnes! Rogers had already told me what he had been through, and I kind of related, so I got therapists ready, I had a room for him in the Compound, I had BARF(still gotta work on that acronym). But Rogers wouldn't listen. I begged Ross to give me some time so I could talk to them, to get them to come in peacefully so nobody else would get hurt. We saw how well that went. At that moment, they all turned to demons.  
I blame them all for letting their demons take control of them, that was their choice, but I don't blame Barnes, no matter what some people will say. Yes I am still very angry at him for killing my mom, but I understand that that really WAS a demon taking control. HYDRA is full of demons, and they made a person who might have been an angel to some, a demon to others. When I fought Rogers and Barnes I saw the demon in Barnes. I saw how it enveloped him in shadows and covered his mind in shade. I could see its terrible fangs sinking in to Barnes and taking control, but I could see how the angel fought back. It was weak, a tiny light in a sea of darkness, but it fought. When I burned that arm off I saw the demon go. I saw all of his energy leave him as the shadows flew away. The fangs, the claws, the wings I saw draped over Barnes' figure fled with the arm, leaving behind the small light of the angel. I don't blame him. I blame the others. I blame ROGERS.  
The man everybody said was pure, good, just, a TRUE angel was actually a demon. The worst demon I have ever seen. I've seen a lot of demons in my lifetime. I've faced a lot of backstabbers. But they were all enveloped by their demons when they betrayed me. HE wasn't. At the airport I still saw a glimmer of hope in his eyes as all the others turned to dark. Maximoff had never left the dark in the first place. I saw that glimmer again in Siberia, when I first pried open that door. But all that left when I tried to attack his precious Barnes. He didn't seem to realize that even though Barnes was once an angel to him, he would never be the same. He would forever be an angel with a broken halo. Steve didn't realize that. He was so stubborn, so protective, so single-minded that he didn't even realize that all the shadows in that cold, cold place and that all the shadows coming off of Barnes' demon had formed a shell around him, turning him into the worst kind of demon one could ever face: A Liar.  
He lied. He had been lying to me for 3 years. All those years of lying, all that time pretending to be something he wasn't caught up to him. I could see him transform. I could see the black coat of shadows that he wore. I could see the blue slits where his eyes used to be, and I could see the fangs that jutted out of his mouth. He might not have physically transformed into the awful demon, but he sure did mentally. He attacked me with no remorse, bent on killing me just to protect his friend. The worst part was when they ganged up on me. Two demons facing me down, their horrendous fanged smiles and slit-like eyes right in my face as their claws ripped me to shreds.  
When they left me, I watched them go. I could see the wings of a broken angel and the wings of a demon. I will never look at him the same way. I will forever see that slasher smile and those icy eyes. I will forever see that shield slamming down into my chest . I will forever see him stand there as the shadows engulfed him. When I saw them leave I made a vow. I made a vow that I would never sink to Rogers' level. I would never become the demon that he became. Even though I had been engulfed by a demon before, I would never let it control me again. I would never pretend to be an angel when in fact a demon lay just below the surface. I would be a better person and prove my father wrong. I'd prove them all wrong.  
And just like that, as I sat up, I watched my brilliant angel wings unfold.


End file.
